Cornell in Buffalo

Buffalo Commons

The PARTNERSHIP FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD and CORNELL UNIVERSITY have created a public commons for collective knowledge sharing, impactful applied research, and public policy development. Buffalo Commons is a network of researchers and partners dedicated to exploring Buffalo-based inquires. It is both an in-person platform, fostering these relationships and an online tool, sharing the knowledge of the local area via reports, policy briefs, fact sheets, radio shows, and artistic expressions. Collaborative and democratic in design and purpose, Buffalo Commons hosts a diverse network of faculty, students, practicioners, and community partners.

Visit each page to learn more about the numerous ways that students, staff, and faculty are able to participate in service-learning and civic engagement efforts in Buffalo.

Kristin Szczepaniec is the collaboration and Research Specialist at Cornell ILR, facilitating the network of researchers and partners on Buffalo-based research and disseminating this information in Buffalo Commons. She earned an MPA in Education Policy & American Indian Studies from Cornell University, holds a Master of Arts degree in Elementary Education from the University of New Mexico and a BA in Economics and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame. A native western New Yorker, she is Seneca and Polish. She worked with the NACA Inspried Schools Network on developing an Indigenous Education Knowledge Management system, supporting and developing community-designed and led schools for Native students. She served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships for Teach for America's Native Alliance Initiative, building a strong community of Native leaders focused on culturally responsive education and was a middle school math teacher in the Pueblo of Laguna.